Desktop Organizer (PTBSync)
Atomic clock synchronization, Organizer, Desktop calendar and Trayclock

PTBSync - Tips & Tricks


My experiences with problems and solutions using PTBSync.
Only given as an example for the possibilities you have using this beautiful program, and to give you ideas to make your own solutions.
Most of these solutions were found thanks to the help and suggestions of the maker of the program PTBSync.
This is not for beginners, you need to know the possibilities of the program (mentioned in the 'Help'-file).


The user-choice: Display holiday with and without moving day operation:

I had a problem with using the 'moving day' possibility for a real holiday falling on a weekend.
The 'moving day' functions perfectly.
But it does not respect the original 'holiday', it changes (perfectly) to the date of the free (not-working) day coupled to that 'holiday'.

Example:
In Belgium the national day is on the 21st of July.
For everyone who works it's a free day, if this holiday falls on a weekend, the free day is the next Monday (except for civil servants, they have a free day of their choice).

The moving day [MovingOperation_MVU] functions perfectly.
On a year that this possibility is active the mention of the national day on the 21st of July is moved to the next Monday (=free day for that reason) BUT it disappears on the 21st of July, and, even then, that's the only day for our national day.
I liked the fact that the free day was automatically moved, but I didn't liked the fact that the holiday itself was not mentioned in that case on the correct date.

The maker of the program solved it this way:
In the 'Special Days' window he added a third possibility for the 'Moving Day Operations':
Display holiday with and without moving day operation.

Result with that option:
* The years that the 21st of July falls on a weekday (the 'moving day' formula is not used that year), it's only mentioned once.
* The years that the 21st of July falls on a weekend (the 'moving day' formula is used that year), it's mentioned twice: once on the 21st of July (the real date of the holiday) and a second time on the following Monday (the free day). And thanks to the 'comment' you can see why it's mentioned a second time.


This is the result of the three options:

Option 1: Display holiday without moving day operation: you only see the correct date for that event, even if the free day for that event is moved to another date.

Option 2: Display holiday with moving day operation: you only see the date of the free day for that event, even when it is moved from the original date, the original date is only (briefly) mentioned in the comment-line.

Option 3: Display holiday with and without moving day operation: you always see the correct date, and the years that the free day is moved you see also the correct free day, with in it's comment-line the original date (briefly) mentioned.


The 'moving day' option '..=0' permits days to disappear under certain conditions:

Example:
In Belgium the civil servants working in Brussels have a afternoon free on the 22nd of July, but only if the 22nd of July is a weekday. If the 22nd of July falls on a weekend they lose that free afternoon without compensation.

Thanks to the new possibilities a new 'MovingOperation_NWK.txt' was made (Sa=0, Su=0)
In words: don't display when on a Saturday or a Sunday.

Now the line: 22.7.*NWK =... gives the perfect result.

This possibility also permits:
The correct 1st and last day of the year in the 53-week calendar, the 53th Sunday of a year to disappear in all years that have only 52 Sundays, ...


The MOVE=Always option permits days to appear on their correct date in all conditions:

Example:
In France Mother Day is on the last Sunday in May, BUT when that Sunday is Pentecost, Mother Day is moved to the first Sunday in June.

In the file 'France.txt' this is solved using the date line: 31.5.-1Su-49Dy*B07+49Dy =Fête des Mères
In words: if 49 days before the last sunday in May = Eastern then add 7 days to this date.

When the user makes the choice 'Display holiday without moving day operation' in the 'Special Days' window, the date of the Mother Day in France stays on the last Sunday in May (but WRONG date for every year that Pentecost falls on the last Sunday in May).

Thanks to the possibility of adding 'MOVE=Always', or to a file, or to a MovingOperation-file the choice of the user can be overruled, only to obtain a more correct result.
It is advisable to use this option AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE because it limits the choise of the user.

The maker of the program added also 'MOVE=User' to return to the normal user-options when used inside a file. This avoids that the few lines that must always be moved had to be placed at the bottom of the file.


Only given to show the possibilities of the 'moving Operation' in the program.

Thanks to the 'moving day' option 'Es/OxEs=..' and the possibility to go to a maximum move of 21 days (version 4.6c & later) the following became possible:

First the two rules, that sometimes influence each other:

1. Saint Joseph's Day is marked in some branches of Christianity in honor of Saint Joseph, spouse of Mary and foster-father of Jesus.
It is a feast day in Roman Catholicism, falling on 19 March.
If the feast day falls on a Sunday, the previous Saturday (March 18) is observed instead, and if it falls during Holy Week, it is moved to the Monday after Low Sunday, or eight days after Easter.

2. The Annunciation of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the pronouncement by the archangel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God.
The Christian churches celebrate this feast on March 25, which is nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Jesus, or Christmas.
In the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, the feast is moved if necessary to prevent it from either falling on a Sunday, or during Holy Week or the week in which Easter occurs.
To avoid a Sunday, the previous Saturday (March 24) would be observed instead, and in years when March 25 falls during Holy Week or Easter Week the Annunciation is moved to the Monday after Low Sunday, which is the Sunday after Easter (if the Feast of St. Joseph, normally falling on March 19, must also be moved to a later date as a consequence of Easter falling on one of its earliest possible dates, the Annunciation is transferred to the Tuesday after Low Sunday, with the feast of St. Joseph on the Monday).

Easter can fall the earliest on March 22. The Holy Week begins on the Sunday before Easter. The Easter Week ends on the Sunday after Easter (Low Sunday).

How to solve this:

1. creation of a lot of 'MovingOperation_...txt' files: .._B06 (Es=+6), .._B07 (Es=+7), .._B08 (Es=+8), .._B09 (Es=+9), .._B10 (Es=+10), .._B11 (Es=+11), .._B12 (Es=+12), .._B13 (Es=+13), .._B14 (Es=+14).

2. making of these two data lines:

19.3.*NLD+6Dy*B14-1Dy*B13-1Dy*B12-1Dy*B11-3Dy =observance Saint Joseph (rk) ;Note=19.3., when Sunday >Saturday, when Holy Week >2nd monday after Easter {d}

25.3.+6Dy*B14-1Dy*B13-1Dy*B12-1Dy*B11-1Dy*B10-1Dy*B09-1Dy*B09-1Dy*B08-1Dy*B07-1Dy*B06+3Dy*NLD =observance Annunciation of Mary (rk) ;Note=25.3., when Sunday >Saturday, when Holy/Easter Week >2nd Monday or Tuesday after Easter {d}

Actually these days are mentioned in the Dutch files, and the 'MovingOperation_...txt'-files are available in the Dutch files directory, you can also find them on the MovingOperations page.
One day they will come available in the English files.

You want to see the result: copy these lines in one of your 'Holiday_...txt'-files and copy or make the 'MovingOperation_...txt'-files.
Then look in the 'special days' window, and go to the year 2008, or the extreme years: 1818 & 2285.
Don't forget to 'enable moving day operations'.